by Paul Myerberg, USA TODAY Sports

by Paul Myerberg, USA TODAY Sports

At this rate, there may be no undefeated teams left on Jan. 7. There were six unblemished automatic-qualifying teams at the end of October; there are three left standing as we close November. The latest contender to leave the ranks was Baylor, which floundered in its first true road test of the season to drop to 9-1.

That's just one thing to admire about Florida State, Alabama and Ohio State, the last three major-conference undefeated teams left standing heading into the month's final weekend ‚?? and, not coincidentally, the top three teams in this week's 1-125 re-ranking. Oregon, Stanford, Baylor, Missouri, Clemson, Oklahoma State and others have had their opportunity at a perfect season. FSU, Alabama and the Buckeyes, meanwhile, have not fallen victim to the avoidable loss.

At most, due to the fact FSU and Alabama seem destined to meet on Jan. 6, there will be only two undefeated AQ teams at the end of the season. Even that small number is rare: Only once in the BCS era, in 2004, have two AQ teams finished the season without a loss. As for simply going undefeated, there's a reason only four AQ teams have done so since 2005 ‚?? because it's hard.